Tracy Clark is the author of three Chicago mysteries featuring cop turned PI, Cass Raines. She just won the Sue Grafton Memorial Award for the second in the series, Borrowed Time. The third one, What You Don’t See, will be released next week. Even with these “Distractions”, she took time to talk about books for us. You can order Tracy Clark’s books, and the books she suggests, through the Web Store. https://store.poisonedpen.com/

Tracy Clark is the author of the highly acclaimed Chicago Mystery Series featuring ex-homicide cop turned PI Cassandra Raines, a hard-driving, African-American protagonist who works the mean streets of the Windy City dodging cops, cons, killers, and thugs. She received Anthony Award and Lefty Award nominations for her series debut, Broken Places, which was also shortlisted for the American Library Association’s RUSA Reading List, named a CrimeReads Best New PI Book of 2018, a Midwest Connections Pick, and a Library Journal Best Books of the Year. In addition to her Cass Raines novels, Tracy’s short story “For Services Rendered,” appears in the anthology Shades of Black: Crime and Mystery Stories by African”‘American Authors. A native of Chicago, she works as an editor in the newspaper industry and roots for the Cubs, Sox, Bulls, Bears, and Blackhawks equally. She is a member of Sisters in Crime, PI Writers of America, International Thriller Writers, and a Mystery Writers of America Midwest board member. Find Tracy on Facebook, follow her on Twitter @tracypc6161, or visit her online at TracyClarkBooks.com.

*****

These are tough times for all of us. Locked in. Locked down. Masks on. Gloves on. A killer virus, but no vaccine. Washington in chaos, no firm hand on the wheel. Gangs of marauding toilet paper hoarders hitting the grocery stores like locust swarming over a field of young wheat. Toilet paper? Really? I would think in a crisis like this, food might be the better selection, but whatevs, nobody asked me. Anyway, where was I? Oh, pandemic. So in our current situation, when everyone’s stressed and worried and they’ve got too much to do, but only four walls to look at 24/7 because we’re all self-isolating, I turn to things I know are going to smooth out the rough edges. Ginger snaps. Love “˜em. Prime Video. I’m going back and re-watching all the Poirot episodes. I’m now halfway through season two. I’m also writing my next book. Eeek. Can’t talk about it. And reading. When I’m not writing, when I’m not eating the snaps (with an ice-cold glass of skim milk). When I’m not watching Poirot or adulting in the real world, I’m reading. I’m a reader. I’ve been a reader since I first turned the pages on that old Jack and Jill catastrophe. Hill? Pail of water? What the heck were they thinking? Where were their parents?

So, in a crisis, I read, but I read when things are going great, too. I’m reading this post now while I’m writing it. Reading is my jam. You will never see me without a book on my person, either in a back pocket, in my bag, or on my phone. Yep, I’ve got my entire Kindle library right at my fingertips. Ain’t technology grand? Oh, quick note. If you call me while I’m reading on my phone, I’m gonna have to get back to you.

So, here are a few recommendations for when you’ve binge-watched everything and the brownies run out. I’ve also tossed in a couple of plays that I reread all the time just because they’re awesome and they make me happy. Try them. They might make you happy too.

They All Fall Down, Rachel Howzell Hall.

This one’s great. It’s a take on Agatha Christie’s AND THEN THERE WERE NONE or TWELVE LITTLE INDIANS, or whatever title they slip in. A group of people brought together in a remote setting, each with a secret. But it goes beyond pastiche and offers some really interesting twists. Hall also authors the Lou Norton series, featuring an African American female police detective in Los Angeles. Excellent. Run, don’t walk. Tell Rachel I sent you.

Vanishing in the Haight, Max Tomlinson.

I had the privilege of reading an early copy of this one and loved it. Colleen Hayes, an ex-con, jailed for killing her ex, is hired by a wealthy dying man to find out who killed his teenage daughter in Golden Gate Park years earlier. The whole thing takes place in 1978, which is so cool. It brought back memories of the “˜70s. Taut writing. Colleen is tough, resourceful, wounded. Loved her. It doesn’t release until September, but it’s available for pre-order. Hint, hint.

Pauper and Prince in Harlem: A Ross Agency Mystery, Delia Pitts.

This is a classic PI story featuring a tough, troubled, complicated PI, SJ Rook. In this one, Rook has to solve the case of a tragic shooting of a young boy. A drive-by killing. It’s summer. It’s hot. It’s Harlem. The neighborhood crackles with unease and a growing feeling of dread, but Rook works the streets, chasing down every lead. From first page to last, it’s a riveting journey. Lovely writing.

The Ninja Daughter, Tori Eldridge.

This falls squarely into the kickass category, which I love on so many levels. Anyway, Lily Wong rescues women from vulnerable situations, abusive husbands, etc. That’s her thing. She’s an advocate, a champion of the underdog, a modern-day superhero, minus X-ray vision and that flying stuff. However, she is, wait for it, A NINJA! I know, right? She’s ripping out ankle bones, breaking noses, incapacitating bad guys three times her size. And her near and dear call her Dumpling. I loved this book. It’s Zen with a KICK. Good story. Wonderful main character. Side note. If you get your keister kicked by a tiny woman named Dumpling, you may as well just pack it up and move out of town.

Dead Land, Sara Paretsky.

Well, because it’s Paretsky. Just released. Yep. On my Kindle.

Now my old standby plays. For the first, AS YOU LIKE IT. I enjoy it for the comforting rhythm of the iambic pentameter. Five feet, long, short. Rolls off the tongue like butter. Helps me with my sentence rhythms, though I fall waaaay short of Will’s brilliance. I like Shaky’s other works, mostly the comedies, but AYLI is my fav. Favorite line: “Sell while you can, you are not for all markets.” Cracks me up every time.

THE GIN GAME, DL Coburn. Fonsia, Fonsia, Fonsia. (Add head shake here).

I could recommend oh so many more wonderful books but haven’t the time. Hit me up on FB or Twitter, or something, or snag me at the next conference, I’ll give you a list.

Stay well. Stay safe.

Happy reading!

*****

For “Happy reading”, check for Tracy Clark’s “Distractions” in the Web Store. https://store.poisonedpen.com/

Borrowed Time, Tracy Clark’s second Chicago mystery, won the Sue Grafton Memorial Award.

In Tracy Clark’s electrifying new mystery featuring Cassandra Raines, the former Chicago cop turned private investigator looks into a suspicious death as a favor to a friend—and makes some powerful enemies . . .

Sitting in cold cars for hours, serving lowlifes with summonses . . . being a P.I. means riding out a lot of slow patches. But sometimes the most familiar paths can lead straight to danger—like at Cass’s go-to diner, where new delivery guy Jung Byson wants to enlist her expertise. Jung’s friend, Tim Ayers, scion of a wealthy Chicago family, has been found dead, floating in Lake Michigan near his luxury boat. And Jung is convinced there’s a murderer on the loose . . .

Cass reluctantly begins digging only to discover that Jung neglected to mention one crucial fact: Tim Ayers was terminally ill. Given the large quantities of alcohol and drugs found in his body, Ayers’ death appears to be either an accident or suicide. Yet as much as Cass would like to dismiss Jung’s suspicions, there are too many unanswered questions and unexplained coincidences. 

Why would anyone kill a dying man? Working her connections on both sides of the law, Cass tries to point the police in the right direction. But violence is escalating around her, and Cass’s persistence has already attracted unwanted attention, uncovering sinister secrets that Cass may end up taking to her grave.

*****

What You Don’t See will be released on May 26.

Former cop Cass Raines knows the streets of Chicago all too well. Now she’s a private investigator and getting an exclusive glimpse into how the other half lives—and how they die . . .

Wealth. Power. Celebrity. Vonda Allen’s glossy vanity magazine has taken the Windy City by storm, and she’s well on her way to building a one-woman media empire. Everybody adores her. Except the people who work for her. And the person who’s sending her flowers with death threats . . .
 
As Vonda’s bodyguard, off-duty cop Ben Mickerson knows he could use some back-up—and no one fits the bill better than his ex-partner on the police force, Cass Raines. Now a full-time private eye, Cass is reluctant to take the job. She isn’t keen on playing babysitter to a celebrity who’s rumored to be a heartless diva. But as a favor to Ben, she signs on. But when Vonda refuses to say why someone might be after her, and two of her staff turn up dead, Ben and Cass must battle an unknown assailant bent on getting to the great lady herself, before someone else dies.
 
Cass finds out the hard way just how persistent a threat they face during the first stop on Vonda’s book tour. As fans clamour for her autograph, things take an ugly turn when a mysterious fan shows up with flowers and slashes Ben with a knife. While her ex-partner’s life hangs in the balance, Cass is left to find out what secrets Vonda is keeping, who might want her dead, and how she can bring Ben’s attacker to justice before enemies in the Chicago Police Department try to stop her in her tracks . . .

Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, recently had a book chat with one of my favorite people – notice I said one of my favorite people, not just a favorite author. Hank Phillippi Ryan has won five Agatha Awards, in addition to the Anthony, Macavity, Daphne du Maurier, and Mary Higgins Clark Award for her bestselling mystery novels. As an investigative reporter, her work has resulted in new laws, criminals sent to prison, homes saved from foreclosure, and millions of dollars in restitution for victims and consumers. Along with her 36 Emmys and 14 Edward R. Murrow awards, Hank has received dozens of other honors for her ground-breaking journalism. A former president of Sisters in Crime and founder of MWA University, she lives in Boston with her husband, a nationally renowned civil rights and criminal defense attorney. She is the author of Trust Me, and the Jane Ryland series (The Other Woman, The Wrong Girl, Truth be Told, Say No More and What You See). And, she is kind (unless she’s investigating you, I’m sure.)

Ryan’s latest book, The Murder List, a USA Today bestseller, will be released in June in paperback. Here’s The Murder List.

The Murder List is a new standalone suspense novel in the tradition of Lisa Scottoline and B. A. Paris from award-winning author and reporter Hank Phillippi Ryan.

“An exhilarating thrill ride that keeps you turning pages…Ryan deftly delivers a denouement as shocking as it is satisfying.”–Liv Constantine, bestselling author of The Last Mrs. Parrish and The Last Time I Saw You

Law student Rachel North will tell you, without hesitation, what she knows to be true. She’s smart, she’s a hard worker, she does the right thing, she’s successfully married to a faithful and devoted husband, a lion of Boston’s defense bar, and her internship with the Boston DA’s office is her ticket to a successful future.

Problem is–she’s wrong.

And in this cat and mouse game–the battle for justice becomes a battle for survival.

Hank Phillippi Ryan’s next book, The First to Lie, is scheduled for August release. You can pre-order it now, and order her other books in the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2RXT88e

Here’s the summary of The First to Lie.

Bestselling and award-winning author and investigative reporter Hank Phillippi Ryan delivers another twisty, thrilling cat and mouse novel of suspense that will have you guessing, and second-guessing, and then gasping with surprise.

We all have our reasons for being who we are—but what if being someone else could get you what you want?

After a devastating betrayal, a young woman sets off on an obsessive path to justice, no matter what dark family secrets are revealed. What she doesn’t know—she isn’t the only one plotting her revenge.

An affluent daughter of privilege. A glamorous manipulative wannabe. A determined reporter, in too deep. A grieving widow who must choose her new reality. Who will be the first to lie? And when the stakes are life and death, do a few lies really matter?

*****

Enjoy the book chat between Hank Phillippi Ryan and Barbara Peters as they talk about thrillers, the news, and the current world situation.

There are two weeks worth of “Distraction” book posts lined up for the blog, but there is also a wealth of videos thanks to The Poisoned Pen’s virtual events. These virtual events give you the chance to listen to so many of your favorite authors. Today, there’s a virtual event with Jeffery Deaver for the release of his second Colter Shaw novel, The Goodbye Man. In Deaver’s conversation with Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, he introduces Colter Shaw in his first book, The Never Game.

You can order both books, including a signed copy of The Goodbye Man through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/30e1laZ

Here’s the summary of The Goodbye Man.

In this twisty thriller from the New York Times bestselling master of suspense, reward-seeker Colter Shaw infiltrates a sinister cult after learning that the only way to get somebody out . . . is to go in.

In the wilderness of Washington State, expert tracker Colter Shaw has located two young men accused of a terrible hate crime. But when his pursuit takes a shocking and tragic turn, Shaw becomes desperate to discover what went so horribly wrong and if he is to blame. Shaw’s search for answers leads him to a shadowy organization that bills itself as a grief support group. But is it truly it a community that consoles the bereaved? Or a dangerous cult with a growing body count? Undercover, Shaw joins the mysterious group, risking everything despite the fact that no reward is on offer. He soon finds that some people will stop at nothing to keep their secrets hidden . . . and to make sure that he or those close to him say “goodbye” forever.

*****

Here’s the virtual event, the conversation between Jeffery Deaver and Barbara Peters.

Edith Maxwell’s biography changed within the last couple weeks. She can now add Agatha Award-winning author to her list of accomplishments. Her fourth Quaker Midwife mystery, Charity’s Burden, won the Agatha for Best Historical Novel published in 2019.

Maxwell is going to talk about her reading “Distractions” today. But, first, the rest of her bio. Edith Maxwell is a former farmer of a certified organic farm, holds a Ph.D. in Linguistics, is a long-time member of the Society of Friends, and a member of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America. She is also a talented amateur chef. The Quaker Midwife and the Local Foods mysteries are written as Edith Maxwell, while she writes the Country Store Mysteries and the Cozy Capers Book Group Mysteries under the pseudonym Maddie Day. She blogs with the Wicked Authors and at Killer Characters. Her websites are www.edithmaxwell.com and maddiedayauthor.com.

Look for Maxwell’s book Distractions, and her own books, in the Web Store. https://store.poisonedpen.com/

*****

I’ve been reading more than usual during this time of isolation. Unlike some of my writer pals, I have been able to focus on my writing every morning. Once I finish my daily 1500+ words and do an afternoon of blogging and other authorly work, I crave the distraction of a good novel.

Like many, I’ve been waiting a near-eternity for the next book from one of my favorite authors, Julia Spencer-Fleming. She did not disappoint with the suspenseful Hid From Our Eyes. I’ve always loved the details about Russ and Clare’s personal lives mixed in with the crime stories set in an Adirondacks village, and now Clare is also breastfeeding their baby. This is a book close to my heart.

After meeting the delightful Ann Cleeves last November at the New England Crime Bake, I’m finally binge reading her Shetland books. White Nights was a page turner I didn’t want to put down, and now I’m on to Red Bones. The stark northern island setting really impacts the stories. White Nights, which takes place in the summer when it never gets truly dark at night touches how midsummer deeply affects moods. We binge watched the Shetland series a couple of years ago. When I finish reading the books, I want to watch it again.

I’m a book behind on Victoria Thompson’s historical Gaslight Mystery series, so next up on my TBR pile is Murder on Trinity Place. I want to read it before I dive into Murder on Pleasant Avenue, the brand new one. Vicki’s early-1900s midwife was part of the inspiration for writing my own fictional Quaker midwife Rose Carroll in a late-1880s Massachusetts mill and factory town. I also love Vicki’s Counterfeit Lady series.

My talented and award-winning friend Elizabeth Atkinson has a new middle-grade novel out. It’s not crime fiction, and you don’t have to be a tween to enjoy Fly Back, Agnes, a tale of an unhappy girl away from her usual home who finds an unlikely friend. And if you know someone in those awkward preteen years, I can recommend all of Elizabeth’s half dozen novels.

*********************

As Maddie Day, the next book in the Country Store series, Nacho Average Day, is scheduled for a June 30 release.

Robbie Jordan is temporarily leaving Pans ‘N Pancakes, her country store in South Lick, Indiana, to visit Santa Barbara, California—where wildfire smoke tinges the air, but a more immediate danger may lie in wait . . .

While looking forward to her high school reunion back in California, Robbie’s anticipation is complicated by memories of her mother’s untimely death. At first, she has fun hanging out with her old classmates and reuniting with the local flavors—avocados, citrus, fish, and spicy Cali-Mex dishes. But then she gets wind of rumors that her mother, an environmental activist, may not have died of natural causes. With the help of friends, Robbie starts clearing the smoke surrounding the mystery—but what she finds could make it hard to get back to Indiana alive . . .
 
Includes Recipes for You to Try!

*****

The fifth Quaker Midwife mystery is Judge Thee Not.

Quaker midwife Rose Carroll must fight bias and blind assumptions to clear the name of a friend when a murderer strikes in nineteenth-century Massachusetts . . .

No stranger to judgmental attitudes in her small town of Amesbury, Quaker midwife Rose Carroll is nonetheless stunned when society matron Mayme Settle publicly snubs her good friend Bertie for her nontraditional lifestyle. When Mrs. Settle is later found murdered—and a supposed witness insists Bertie was spotted near the scene of the crime—the police have no choice but to set their sights on the slighted woman as their main suspect.

*****

And, as a teaser, here’s the cover art only for the sixth Quaker Midwife mystery. Taken Too Soon is scheduled for a September 6 release. There’s no summary yet, and it’s not yet available for pre-order. Watch for it!

In 2018, Cobra Clutch, A.J. Devlin’s debut mystery, was released. It went on to win the Canadian award, the Arthur Ellis Award for Best First Novel. Since the second “Hammerhead” Jed Ounstead mystery, Rolling Thunder, is released May 15, I thought I’d introduce you to the author, by asking A.J. to sit “In the Hot Seat”. You can order Devlin’s books through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2yBPfiZ Thank you, A.J.

A.J., would you introduce yourself to readers?

My name is A.J. Devlin and I am a Canadian crime writer living in Vancouver, which is the city I write about. In my twenties I moved to Southern California for six years where I earned my B.F.A. in Screenwriting from Chapman University and my M.F.A. in Screenwriting from the American Film Institute. After moving back to Vancouver I left screenwriting behind in order to pursue a career as an author before finding a home with my amazing Canadian publisher NeWest Press. When not writing I keep very busy as a married stay-at-home dad raising two children.

Would you introduce us to “Hammerhead” Jed Ounstead?

“Hammerhead” Jed Ounstead is an ex-professional wrestler turned detective working in Vancouver. In Cobra Clutch, he is reluctantly drawn back into the world of independent professional wrestling when someone kidnaps his former tag-team partner’s precious pet python and his old friend ““ who Jed owes ““ asks him for his help. Jed’s a strapping and muscular guy, stubborn and hard-headed (pun intended), but he also has a big heart and a strong moral compass. Jed is often aided on his investigations by his cousin Declan St. James, a former IRA operative turned bartender at his family’s Irish pub, as well as his father, a retired Vancouver Police Department legend who now runs a private investigation business. Jed earned the nickname “Hammerhead” back in his wrestling days due to his penchant for breaking a 2×4 piece of Western red cedar over his head in the wrestling ring after winning a match.

Tell us about Rolling Thunder without spoilers, please.

Rolling Thunder is the sequel to Cobra Clutch and picks up about nine months after the events of the first book. Jed is now working as a licensed private investigator on a provisional basis under his father’s supervision. A former lady wrestler named Stormy Daze, who Jed encountered during his investigation in the first book, has since left the squared circle behind and joined a women’s flat-track roller derby team. With playoffs around the corner, their roller derby coach goes missing. After filing a missing person’s report with the Police, the team decides to take it a step further and pool their money in order to hire a private investigator. Stormy tells her teammates that she knows just the guy.

OK, I’ll admit I’m a fan of Declan’s. Would you introduce us to him as well?

Declan is more than just a former IRA badass and bartender. He’s also a livewire and a bit of a hothead. He says what he wants, does what he wants, whenever he damn well feels like it. Declan is pure id. He’s also a major source of comic relief in the “Hammerhead” Jed series and often has some peculiar and quirky tastes which come up as he tags along from time to time on Jed’s investigations. But he’s deadly in a fight, loves his cousin dearly, and always has his back.

Why the worlds of pro wrestling and roller derby?

I have long been a fan of the athlete / detective subgenre in crime fiction. As a result, I have read dozens of mysteries about boxer-detectives, surfer-detectives, hockey player-detectives, sports agent-detectives, etc. ““ but as far as I could tell no one had ever written about a pro wrestler-detective ““ so I saw an opportunity. It also didn’t hurt that growing up I was a huge pro wrestling fan, and that later in my college years I became fascinated with documentaries and biographies detailing the dark side of sports entertainment. That dichotomy ““ the over-the-top in-ring antics and the tragic fates that often befell the pro wrestlers outside the ring ““ seemed like an exciting and unique sandbox in which to set a mystery-comedy series.

With regards to why I chose the world of women’s flat-track roller derby as the setting for Rolling Thunder, well, that pretty much wrote itself. The idea for the series was always for Jed to continually find himself pulled into fringe sports or unique subcultures while working his cases. It’s safe to say that I’m drawn to the quirky and offbeat, and I think the narrative possibilities of a former professional wrestler having to navigate his way through foreign terrain while working as a private investigator are endless. As far as women’s flat-track roller derby goes, it is one hell of a fun, badass, estrogen-charged, counter-culture sport, which was something I really wanted to showcase. Also, having a character who Jed had encountered in Cobra Clutch reach out to him for help after having transitioned from pro wrestling to roller derby seemed both believable and a fun way to kick off another adventure.

Can you give us a clue what Jed will be involved with in the next book?

I can indeed! This is a bit of an exclusive as I haven’t shared this with many people yet, but in book three of the “Hammerhead” Jed series our hardheaded detective will find himself getting caught up in the bloody and bone-crunching world of mixed martial arts after he is hired by a former ufc fighter and dojo owner to find a stolen championship belt. With his wrestling background, Jed is used to always being the biggest, toughest guy in the room, so I wanted to explore what it would be like for him to go up against guys that are such dangerous fighters that Jed’s usual physical advantage is negated.

Cobra Clutch, the book that introduced Jed, won the Arthur Ellis Award for Best First Novel. Do you remember what you were doing when you learned you were nominated for an award for your debut?

All across the country Crime Writers Of Canada puts on multiple Arthur Ellis Award nomination events, where there is a panel of Canadian crime writers discussing a different theme or topic followed by the panelists opening the envelopes and revealing the nominees. I wasn’t on the panel that night but attended the event, so I was in the audience when they read out the nominees for Best First Novel, and, needless to say, hearing Cobra Clutch being announced was an absolute thrill.

Let’s talk about one of my favorite places, Ireland. What do you enjoy seeing/doing when you visit?

Oh man, where to start?!? I’ve only been able to visit Ireland once but I went for about a week and it was incredible. Of course, Dublin is a total blast and always a fun stop. My wife and I rented a car and drove cross country to Galway staying in bed and breakfasts along the way, which is one of the best ways to see the countryside. After Galway we headed north to Donegal and spent a night at the gorgeous and historic Loughe Eske Castle. We then drove to the (almost) one street town of Derrygonnelly where my grandmother was born so that was an amazing place for me to visit. After that we drove to Ballymena, where I still have relatives on my father’s side, before ending our trip with a couple of nights in Belfast.

I have plans for a Declan-centric novel in the “Hammerhead” Jed series which will see the boys head home to the motherland and the mystery be related to Declan’s IRA past, however, it’s still a couple of books away and will definitely require me to visit Ireland again for research (and more fun!).

You worked as a screenwriter in Hollywood. Any stories you can tell about that experience? If you can’t tell any stories, why did you move back to British Columbia?

After graduating with my M.F.A. in Screenwriting from the American Film Institute I was able to extend my student visa for a year and work in the industry in which I had studied. During this time I worked for an Academy Award nominated producer, was hired to write treatments, do rewrites, pitch directors, etc. I also co-wrote several screenplays with my late professor and mentor Leonard Schrader, but despite all the projects I had on the go I wasn’t able to get any into development, which was frustrating. I decided to move home and try to break into the Canadian film and television industry, but to no avail. Eventually, I was so burned out I decided to put screenwriting on the back burner and finally heed my professor’s advice and take a crack at writing a mystery novel. Several years and multiple drafts later Cobra Clutch was the result and I haven’t looked back since.

Happy reading everyone!

*****

Here is the summary of Rolling Thunder as it appears in the Web Store.

Former pro wrestler “Hammerhead” Jed Ounstead, now a fully-fledged private investigator, is riding high after his first successful case. In this second episode, Jed leaves the wrestling realm to enter a new arena: women’s flat-track roller derby. When old acquaintance Stormy Daze seeks his help finding her team’s missing coach, Jed discovers that the turnbuckle-and-metal-chair mayhem of the wrestling ring pales in comparison to roller derby’s four-wheeled ferocity.

As his search intensifies, Jed is drawn into the criminal orbit of a shady entrepreneur who doubles as a late-night TV personality, a high-class bookmaker with a yen for racing dachshunds, and a kinky painter with a special technique for producing art. When the thunder rolls, Jed finds he needs more than a few of his beloved banana milkshakes to solve this case.

Rolling Thunder continues A.J. Devlin’s hard-hitting, award-winning mystery series with its unbeatable one-two punch of over-the-top-rope humour and elbow-to-the-face adventure.

Lisa Unger’s been quite busy during the social isolation. I know she has been hosting some virtual book programs. I’m grateful she made time to write a book “Distractions” post.

Although her most recent book, The Stranger Inside, was released last September, it will be out in paperback in August. Then, her next hardcover, Confessions on the 7:45, is scheduled for an October release. You can order her books, or pre-order the new one, at the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2WQJrKs

Lisa Unger is the NYT bestselling author of 18 novels. Her books are published in 26 languages, with millions of readers worldwide. In 2019, she received two Edgar Award nominations, an honor held by only a few writers including Agatha Christie. Her work has been voted “Best of the Year” or top picks by Today, People, GMA, EW, Amazon, IndieBound and many others. She has written for the NYT, WSJ, NPR, and Travel+Leisure. She lives in Florida with her family.

Here’s Lisa Unger’s Distractions. Find her book selections in the Web Store. https://store.poisonedpen.com/

*****

All writers are readers first. It is where we fall in love with story, in the pages of someone else’s book. I have never stopped looking for that reader joy, the moment when you open a brand new book (the feel of paper, that beautiful scent of ink!), read the first few paragraphs, and feel that little zap of excitement: Wow! This is going to be so great! I have — maybe we all have — needed that so much during these challenging and frightening times.

Last year I shared a stage with Laura Lippman  and she said something that resonated with me. She had managed to preserve her life as a reader, that she read only the books she truly wanted to read just for herself.  And I realized that with all the books I read for research and for endorsement, that I sometimes postpone reading things that I want to read — just because. So I vowed to change that. Here are a few books that truly transported me during this moment of chaos and gave me a much-needed zap of reader joy.

WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING

By Delia Owens

I was a bit late to this party. Frankly, I often assume that I’m not going to love the books that other people love — because I have an appetite for big, weird stories, flawed, not-necessarily-likable characters, quirky settings, and complicated outcomes. And those kinds of books don’t often have mass appeal.

I happened to meet author Delia Owens prior to the publication of this runaway bestseller and found her to be lovely and so kind, but I didn’t get around to reading her book until much later. WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING is lyrical and strange, a deep dive into character, a love song to the natural world, and a prescient exploration of isolation. If you’re looking for something to transport you to another place and time, as well as a mystery wrapped inside a sometimes painful love story, open this book and delve into Kya’s world. You won’t be eager to leave, and you might learn something while you’re there.

MY SISTER THE SERIAL KILLER

By Oyinkan Braithwaite

Oyinkan Braithwaite recorded a “shelfie,” a video for the UK bookseller Waterstones, and she cited Jane Eyre and Great Expectations as early inspirations in her writing life. I can see the influences of both of those beloved stories in this twisting, darkly funny, moving, character-driven thriller. Korede is getting a little tired of her sister Ayoola and really who wouldn’t? Not only is Ayoola “the pretty one,” she’s also flighty, selfish, and constantly calling on Korede, a hard-working nurse, to clean up her messes. Oh. And she’s a serial killer, systematically offing her boyfriends for various — sometimes almost understandable — reasons.

Everything about this book is transporting — Korede’s voice, the setting, the funny, complicated relationship between the two sisters, Korede’s struggle to find herself, the sisters’ traumatic past. All the pieces are expertly woven creating an utterly immersive reading experience. This story takes place in Nigeria, but the themes are universal, asking probing, questions about love, sisterhood, and how far we’ll go to protect our family, and, in the end, offering complicated, all-too-human answers.

LITTLE SECRETS

by Jennifer Hillier

I loved Jennifer’s Jar of Hearts, a dark and twisty thrill ride with a bottle rocket of an ending, and she has only grown as a writer since then. This book begins with a gut-punch of an opener, a vivid detailing of every parent’s worst nightmare when a young mother lets go of her son’s hand in a busy Seattle market for just a few seconds…and he’s gone.

What could have been a story about the hunt for a missing child is so much more. It’s a portrait of one woman’s desperate journey from her darkest moments, a deep dive into marriage, wealth, the con, friendship, and the house of mirrors that is a parent’s grief. Fresh, propulsive, current, and beautifully written, this is that book that keeps you glued page-after-page, racing to the end, but terrified of what you’ll find when you get there.

SUCH A FUN AGE

By Kiley Reid

I am of the mind that all good books are really mysteries. After all, a burning question is the beating heart of compelling storytelling. It’s the engine that drives us through a narrative: What will happen? I picked this up because I was intrigued by the premise, that a twenty-something African American babysitter is accused of kidnapping her young white charge when they visit a grocery store late at night. Though this is where the story begins, it’s not about a kidnapping. It’s a rich, complicated story about race and class and finding your calling. It’s about women buckling under the weight of expectations — their own, their family’s, the world’s — real and imagined. It’s about how a single moment can mean something different to everyone there, and how all of it is true. Smart, insightful, funny, and driven more by curiosity of character than by the unraveling of the plot, this beautifully observed page-turner will keep you riveted — and take you away from the madness of the moment we’re all sharing.

*****

As mentioned, Lisa Unger’s last release was The Stranger Inside.

Named a BEST BOOK OF FALL 2019 byPeople Magazine,Boston Globe,BookBub,PopSugar,CrimeReadsand more.

“Brilliant…. A well-crafted psychological thriller.” —The New York Times Book Review

Even good people are drawn to do evil things… Twelve-year-old Rain Winter narrowly escaped an abduction while walking to a friend’s house. Her two best friends, Tess and Hank, were not as lucky. Tess never came home, and Hank was held in captivity before managing to escape. Their abductor was sent to prison but years later was released. Then someone delivered real justice–and killed him in cold blood.

Now Rain is living the perfect suburban life, her dark childhood buried deep. She spends her days as a stay-at-home mom, having put aside her career as a hard-hitting journalist to care for her infant daughter. But when another brutal murderer who escaped justice is found dead, Rain is unexpectedly drawn into the case. Eerie similarities to the murder of her friends’ abductor force Rain to revisit memories she’s worked hard to leave behind. Is there a vigilante at work? Who is the next target? Why can’t Rain just let it go?

Introducing one of the most compelling and original killers in crime fiction today, Lisa Unger takes readers deep inside the minds of both perpetrator and victim, blurring the lines between right and wrong, crime and justice, and showing that sometimes people deserve what comes to them.

****

Here’s Lisa Unger’s October release, Confessions on the 7:45.

“[A] taut, beautifully-written novel.” —Sarah Pekkanen, #1 New York Times bestselling author of An Anonymous Girl

From master of suspense Lisa Unger comes a riveting thriller about a chance encounter that unravels a stunning web of lies and deceit.

Be careful to whom you tell your darkest secrets…

Selena Murphy is commuting home from her job in the city when the train stalls out on the tracks. She strikes up a conversation with a beautiful stranger in the next seat, and their connection is fast and easy. The woman introduces herself as Martha and confesses that she’s been stuck in an affair with her boss. Selena, in turn, confesses that she suspects her husband is sleeping with the nanny. When the train arrives at Selena’s station, the two women part ways, presumably never to meet again.

But days later, Selena’s nanny disappears.

Soon Selena finds her once-perfect life upended. As she is pulled into the mystery of the missing nanny, and as the fractures in her marriage grow deeper, Selena begins to wonder, who was Martha really? But she is hardly prepared for what she’ll discover.

Expertly plotted and reminiscent of the timeless classic Strangers on a Train, Confessions on the 7:45 is a gripping thriller about the delicate facades we create around our lives.

Scott Turow is doing a virtual event today on release day for his new book, The Last Trial. Barbara Peters will interview him at 5 PM MST, (8 PM EDT). The event will be on The Poisoned Pen’s Facebook page.

The Last Trial is also the Hot Book of the Week at The Pen, and you can still order signed copies through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/3dCirF6 You can also order Turow’s other books there.

Here’s the summary of The Last Trial.

Two formidable men collide in this “first-class legal thriller” from New York Times bestselling author Scott Turow: a “brilliant courtroom chess match” about a celebrated criminal defense lawyer and the prosecution of his lifelong friend — a doctor accused of murder (David Baldacci).

At eighty-five years old, Alejandro “Sandy” Stern, a brilliant defense lawyer with his health failing but spirit intact, is on the brink of retirement. But when his old friend Dr. Kiril Pafko, a former Nobel Prize winner in Medicine, is faced with charges of insider trading, fraud, and murder, his entire life’s work is put in jeopardy, and Stern decides to take on one last trial.
In a case that will be the defining coda to both men’s accomplished lives, Stern probes beneath the surface of his friend’s dazzling veneer as a distinguished cancer researcher. As the trial progresses, he will question everything he thought he knew about his friend. Despite Pafko’s many failings, is he innocent of the terrible charges laid against him? How far will Stern go to save his friend, and — no matter the trial’s outcome — will he ever know the truth?
Stern’s duty to defend his client and his belief in the power of the judicial system both face a final, terrible test in the courtroom, where the evidence and reality are sometimes worlds apart.
Full of the deep insights into the spaces where the fragility of human nature and the justice system collide, Scott Turow’s The Last Trial is a masterful legal thriller that unfolds in page-turning suspense — and questions how we measure a life.

I won’t tell you how many years Vicki Delany and I have known each other, but I’m always grateful when she agrees to write a piece. Today, she’s going to talk about her book “Distractions”.

Vicki Delany is one of Canada’s most prolific and varied crime writers and a national bestselling author in the United States. She is currently writing four cozy mystery series: the Tea by the Sea mysteries, the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop series, the Year-Round Christmas mysteries and, as Eva Gates, the Lighthouse Library series. Vicki lives and writes in bucolic Prince Edward County, Ontario. She is a past president of Crime Writers of Canada and a co-organizer of Women Killing It, a crime writing festival. Her work has been nominated for the Derringer, the Bony Blithe, the Ontario Library Association Golden Oak, and the Arthur Ellis Awards. She is the recipient of the 2019 Derrick Murdoch Award for contributions to Canadian crime writing.

Check for Vicki Delany’s books, and the books she suggests, in the Web Store. https://store.poisonedpen.com/

*****

I don’t know if you can call the books I’ve been reading lately distractions.  Almost the opposite of!  Because I’ve been reading fiction about plague times.  You know The Plague ““ the Bubonic Plague that killed between one third and one half of the population of Europe and countless others elsewhere in the Middle Ages.

Why on earth am I reading that stuff now?  Because I believe it’s vital to remember what has happened and thus what can happen. 

The first two of these books I read long ago, and when the news started to get serious about the impact of the Coronavirus, I remembered them and read them again.

Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks. 

This beautifully written and imagined novel is based on something that actually happened in England in 1666. The Great Plague was decimating London but things in the countryside were largely safe.   Infected fleas arrived wrapped up in cloth brought by a tailor newly arrived in the village.  And, of course, from there it spread rapidly throughout the immediate area.

The townspeople, under the leadership of their church minister, decided voluntarily to quarantine themselves. No one in. No one out. The Lord of the area agreed to leave supplies at a designated spot outside the town at regular intervals.  They passed the year, dying in great numbers.  But ultimately, when the plague had exhausted itself and the roads were opened, the neighbouring towns had been untouched. 

A truly inspiring story, that reminds us of the importance of sticking together in difficult times.

The Plague Tales, The Burning Road, The Physician’s Road by Ann Benson.

This trilogy has two time lines: 14^th century Europe and 21^st Century UK and US.  The historic tale is that of a Spanish Jewish doctor dealing with the plague, and the 21^st an American doctor struggling against modern plague.  The 21^st century story didn’t appeal too me too much on second reading, partly because it was written in 1997 and her “˜future’ is 2005. I’m not a big reader of speculative fiction, and the future world in this book didn’t appeal to me.  But the themes of struggling against an unknown disease and a suddenly unfamiliar world are still valid.

(Bubonic Plague was really a dreadful disease! The deaths were horrific, and in a time with no painkillers and no antibiotics. The descriptions of such in these two books are rather grim.)

The Glass Hotel by Emily St John Mandel and Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

Mandel is best known for her “˜plague’ book Station Eleven, and The Glass Hotel her newest novel.  I read Station Eleven a couple of years ago and loved it.  It’s not so much a book about a pandemic of terrifying proportions and the end of civilization as we know it, although it does touch on how it arrived and how it spread, but the aftermath, set 25 years after a previously unknown flu has killed 99% of the population (take that all of you who think we’re over-reacting to Covid-19!)  

The Glass Hotel is set in the “˜real’ world that appears to have nothing to do with Station Eleven, but it contains one passage that made me sit up straight: “Imagining an alternate reality… where the terrifying new swine flu in the Republic of Georgia hadn’t been swiftly contained.”  Which is exactly what did happen in the world of Station Eleven!

A neat trick of twisting reality, that.  I only wish we could do that with Covid-19.  Then again, as these books remind us, things can be a heck of a lot worse.

*****

Vicki Delany’s own books are not at all similar to what she’s been reading. There’s a Murder Afoot is the most recent title in her Sherlock Holmes Bookshop mystery series.

Just in time for Sherlock Holmes’s 166th birthday, the fifth installment in national bestselling author Vicki Delany’s Sherlock Holmes Bookshop mystery takes Sherlockania to the max with a Holmes convention and historic 221 Baker Street.

Gemma Doyle and her friends travel to London for a Sherlock Holmes convention–but will Gemma’s father take the fall for a felonious forger’s fatality?

The 6th of January is Sherlock Holmes’s birthday, and lucky for Gemma Doyle, January is also the slowest time of the year at both the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop and Emporium, and Mrs. Hudson’s Tea Room. It’s a good time for Gemma and her friends to travel to England for a Holmes Convention. For Gemma, the trip provides an opportunity to visit her parents, Jayne Wilson is excited about seeing all the sites London has to offer, and Ryan Ashburton just wants to spend some time with Gemma. But the trip is immediately derailed when Gemma’s father Henry recognizes his brother-in-law Randolph Denhaugh, who disappeared more than thirty years ago on the night he stole a valuable painting from his own parents.

Henry, a retired detective with Scotland Yard, has been keeping tabs on the man’s career as a forger of Old Masters and he warns Randy to stay away from his family. It’s up to Gemma, with the help of her friends, to plunge into the “lowest and vilest alleys” of London to save her father from prison.

*****

In July, Delany will launch a new series. The Tea by the Seas series begins with Tea & Treachery.

In this charming new cozy mystery series from nationally bestselling author, Vicki Delany, a New York City expat-turned-Cape Cod tea shop owner must solve the murder of a local real estate developer to help her feisty grandmother out of a jam . . .
 
As the proud proprietor and head pastry chef of Tea by the Sea, a traditional English tearoom on the picturesque bluffs of Cape Cod, Roberts has her hands full, often literally. But nothing keeps her busier than steering her sassy grandmother, Rose, away from trouble. Rose operates the grand old Victorian B & B adjacent to Lily’s tea shop . . . for now. An aggressive real estate developer, Jack Ford, is pushing hard to rezone nearby land, with an eye toward building a sprawling golf resort, which would drive Rose and Lily out of business.
 
Tempers are already steaming, but things really get sticky when Ford is found dead at the foot of Rose’s property and the police think she had something to do with his dramatic demise. Lily can’t let her grandmother get burned by a false murder charge. So she starts her own investigation and discovers Ford’s been brewing bad blood all over town, from his jilted lover to his trophy wife to his shady business partners. Now, it’s down to Lily to stir up some clues, sift through the suspects, and uncover the real killer before Rose is left holding the tea bag.

*****

Look for Vicki Delany’s books in the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2KJCKa6

If you love fantasy and discussions of tropes in the books, you’ll want to check out Penguin Random House’s new Facebook video series, “The Great Fantasy Debate”. Authors, teamed up with comedians, will talk about issues in fantasy books. Check out the trailer for the series.

So, let’s talk about “hot” topics. In the first show, Naomi Novik, author of fantasies, such as Uprooted, faces off against Tochi Onyebuchi, author of War Girls. (Check for the books in the Web Store. https://store.poisonedpen.com/) Topic: Should people be allowed to own dragons?

If you can imagine it, you can debate it.

Should people be allowed to own dragons? What is the best fantasy world to vacation to? These questions and more will be answered on The Great Fantasy Debate, a new video series from Penguin Random House and Supreme Robot Pictures, exclusively on Facebook Watch. The 8-episode series premiered May 5^th, and will air Tuesday nights on the Penguin Random House Facebook page. All episodes are 10 minutes or less.

Each week, expert authors and hilarious comedians will team up to present arguments and counter-arguments (and sometimes interpretive dance) to support their side of a fantasy topic, drawn from fantasy literature and film. Topics range from Game of Thrones to Lord of the Rings, and Harry Potter to Star Wars ““ everything is fair game! At the end of each episode, hosts Abbi Crutchfield and Drea Bolt will make their decision, then ask to the audience to weigh in.

Featured fantasy authors include:

• Pierce Brown (Red Rising)
• Jim Butcher (The Dresden Files)
• Marie Lu (Warcross)
• Naomi Novik (Spinning Silver)
• Tochi Onyebuchi (War Girls)

Featured comedians include:

• Sean Donnelly
• Aminah Imani
• Jay Jurden
• Sarah Smallwood Parsons

Viewers can participate in the debate themselves by joining Penguin Random House’s SciFi & Fantasy Group, Unbound Worlds, which will hold Watch Parties and post bonus material.

Should dragons be pets? What’s your opinion? Richard Wylde, Senior Manager at Penguin Random House, has his own opinion.

“I come down on the side of dragons should absolutely not be pets. It’s a tremendous amount of upkeep with little payoff. The least problematic dragon out there is probably Puff the Magic Dragon, and even then it eventually becomes a metaphor for growing up and abandoning the free-spiritedness of childhood.”

Decide for yourself.

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2331276400504831